earth2pete Riveting Thanks for the info on the Cherry Creek Trail. It has emboldened me even more. I have planned to ride from my home in Colorado Springs to my daughter's in downtown Denver for the last three years. I figured out and drove what I feel to be a safe route up to the south end of the Cherry Creek Trail in Parker. Knowing that the CC Trail is mostly protected I am eager to ride up there. I figure it'll be 85 miles. The most I've done is 58, but I think I can! If I start up north at the Colorado Springs/Monument border and ride to where Parker meets Denver, that is only 53 miles, and technically satisfies my desire to ride from Colo Spgs to Denver, but I'd really like to do door to door.
FYI: Colorado Springs' Greenway Trail goes from Downtown Colorado Springs, through the Air Force Academy to Palmer Lake (although I take surface streets usually). There is a county road, which I think is called Spruce Mountain Road. That goes north to Tomah Road (driving I had to detour through Larkspur by the Renaissance Festival and am prepared to bike that if necessary). At Tomah you can cross over to the East side of I-25 to a frontage road with a wide, generous shoulder all the way north to Castle Rock. In Castle Rock there are protected bike lanes and wide shoulders up to Parker and the south end of the Cherry Creek Trail. This avoids riding on shoulderless Hwy 83 which has seen cyclist fatalities over the years, and Hwy 105 which is very scenic, but also lacks a shoulder.